Telefilm Canada funds 10 French-Language Feature Films

Montreal, May 3, 2018 – Telefilm Canada is investing close to $13 million in 10 French-language feature films from Quebec.

“These are very promising projects that will surely reach diverse audiences,” said Jean-Claude Mahé, Interim Executive Director, Telefilm Canada. “We are pleased to support these unique works and to contribute to the success of all these talented Canadians.”

Antigone 

Director and screenwriter: Sophie Deraspe
Producer: Marc Daigle (Corporation de développement et de production ACPAV)

By helping her brother escape from prison, Antigone, a young woman with great promise, opposes the laws of men and remains faithful to her own sense of justice and solidarity.

 Il pleuvait des oiseaux (It Was Raining Birds)

Director and screenwriter: Louise Archambault
Producer: Ginette Petit (Outsiders Films)

Boychuck, Tom and Charlie live in the woods in the Abitibi region, cut off from the rest of the world, thanks to help from Steve. In exchange, the hermits take care of Steve’s pot grow-op. Steve meets his aunt, Gertrude, whom nobody knows about, and who has been unjustly incarcerated since she was a teenager. He helps her hide out at the hermits’ camp. Il pleuvait des oiseaux looks behind the boorish everyday reality of these men of the woods, offering a hymn to a life where love is ageless.

Fabuleuses

Director: Mélanie Charbonneau

Screenwriter: Geneviève Pettersen and Mélanie Charbonneau
Producer: Nicole Robert (Go Films) and Pascal Bascaron (Go Films)

Twenty-five-year-old Laurie, and intern in a trendy digital magazine, dreams of getting a position in the editorial department. Despite her passion and talent, she’s missing the most important asset of all: followers. Accompanied by her best friend, Elizabeth, and her idol, Clara, Laurie puts all her energy into becoming fabulous enough to get the followers she needs. Her quest for popularity affects every area of her life, including friendship, love, ambition, and even self-esteem.

Félix et le trésor de Morgäa

Director: Nicola Lemay

Screenwriter: Marc Robitaille
Producer: Nancy Florence Savard (10th Avenue Productions)

Convinced that his father Jack, who was lost at sea two years ago, is still alive, 12-year-old Felix goes out in search of him with Old Tom, a retired sailor. They’re joined on their journey by Quack, a peg-legged thieving parrot and Ulysses, a cat that acts like a dog. Their quest takes them to the Isle of the Eternal Night, where Felix and Tom find Jack confined, in spite of himself, in an underground city where members of a secret society are ruled by the megalomaniac Morgäa and her priceless treasure: the secret of everlasting life. Preferring freedom over immortality, Felix, Tom, and Jack join forces to escape from the accursed city.

Jouliks  

Director: Mariloup Wolfe

Screenwriter: Marie-Christine Lê-Huu
Producer: Annie Blais (Films Vision 4)

Seven-year-old Yanna lives happily with parents that she loves madly. Unfortunately, the love between her parents, Zak and Vera, seems to be slipping away. The child is torn between her Romany father and her mother from the Lower Saint Lawrence. Yanna watches for cracks and seals the gaps as she tries to prevent things from getting worse. A visit from Vera’s mother, Marguerite, could well cause the final breakup. To avoid disaster, Yanna does something that will change their lives forever.

 Mafia Inc.

Director: Daniel Grou (Podz)

Screenwriter: Sylvain Guy
Producers:  Antonello Cozzolino (Attraction Images) and André Rouleau (Caramel Films)

The Gamaches, father and son tailors, have been clothing the Paternòs, a mafia family, for three generations. Their children live in the same neighbourhood and go to the same schools. Vincent “Vince” Gamache now works for the godfather, Joe Paternò, and his eldest son, Jack, while his sister Sofie is engaged to Patrizio, the youngest of the Paternò family. Vince, reckless and impetuous, tries to get ahead by impressing the godfather, which irritates Jack to no end. War ensues. Sofie now has to choose sides. The Gamache family is about to burst at the seams. Brother and sister become sworn enemies, betray each other, and pay the ultimate price.

Répertoire des villes disparues (Directory of Missing Cities)

Director and screenwriter: Denis Côté
Producer: Ziad Touma (Productions Couzin)

An unusual road accident causes the death of a young man. No one can testify about the circumstances of the tragedy. The village has very few inhabitants. No one dares to talk about it very much. They’d rather forget that it ever happened. For the Dubé family, for Louise, Richard, Camille, the mayor and the others, their days are now short and numbered. They must face the fact that an unknown Evil force has moved into the area.

Le Rire (The Laugh)

Director and screenwriter: Martin Laroche
Producer: Fanny-Laure Malo (La Boîte à Fanny)

A forest in contemporary Quebec. At a mass execution, Valérie narrowly escapes death. The sole survivor, she manages to free herself from the pit where she had been buried, abandoning the remains of her lover. Eight years later, we find Valérie living in Montreal with her new boyfriend, Gabriel. She’s a nursing assistant in a nursing home where she has struck up a friendship with Jeanne, a well-educated, humorous woman, struggling with a physical disability. Mixing realism and an unsettling strangeness, Le Rire takes us on a very human exploration of survivor’s syndrome, and the mourning process of the past coupled with the passage of time, the strength of love, and the joy of being alive.

 Une manière de vivre (A Way of Life)

Director and screenwriter: Micheline Lanctôt
Producer: André Gagnon (Lycaon Pictus)

Colette has just lost her husband without any understanding why he took his own life. She thinks it’s her fault and decides to volunteer as a bedside companion to palliative care patients. Her daughter Gabrielle can no longer bear the emotional chaos that her life has become. She seduces Josse, a major European specialist on Spinoza visiting Montreal to give one of his famous talks. This causes Josse to flee to the Far North, betraying his wife and leaving his responsibilities behind.

Vivre à 100 MPH

Director and screenwriter: Louis Bélanger
Producer: Luc Vandal (Coop Vidéo de Montréal)

Louis, Daniel, and Éric are an inseparable trio. They’ve known each other forever. Their teenage adventures led them to discover a life without limits. The boys don’t want to miss any opportunities. Their reckless nature drives them to live life at 100 miles an hour. And then, there’s Nathalie. She’s the one who’ll witness their adventures. She’s the one that all three will fall in love with at one time or other in their lives.

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Media enquiries:

Andréane Leblanc
Advisor, Public Relations – French Market
Telefilm Canada
514-283-0838, ext. 2065 or 1 800 567-0890
andreane.leblanc@telefilm.ca